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1 History 741 Historiography Fall Term 2020 Thursdays 9 Am 1 History 741 Historiography Fall Term 2020 Thursdays 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Virtual Dr. Michael Gauvreau Office Hours: By appointment. I can be contacted by email, Skype, or Webex [email protected] Objectives: History 741 is devoted to an examination of the theories, methods, and history of historical writing, and focuses primarily on the post-1870 period. The chief objectives of the course are: • To provide students with an overview of the history of history, with emphasis on the chief developments of the twentieth century • To introduce students to the most important schools of historical writing of the twentieth century • To introduce students to some of the most important issues, debates, and innovations in modern historiography • To stimulate students to think about their own historical concepts and methodology, both in terms of the theoretical and the practical. Key Changes for 2020: This course is being offered in virtual (also known as synchronous) format. This means that we will meet according to the schedule set out in your timetables. Seminars will meet weekly using Webex, which will be made accessible via email invitation. All students must have access to a Webex account prior to joining the course. Evaluation and Grade Distribution: This course is a seminar, which places a premium on informed participation in discussion. This requires that students read and reflect on the relevant material in advance, attend class meetings, and engage in the discussion regarding the readings, issues, and themes of the course. In view of the fact that most M.A. students are engaged in major writing projects and other duties for other graduate courses, the Department has chosen not to include a major research assignment in History 741 (except for Ph.D. students doing the course as a minor field). The course, however, does require the submission of written 2 work, and for both M.A. and Ph.D. students, there is a final examination. Evaluation of student performance in the course consists of the following elements: M.A. students Ph.D. students Seminar Participation: 35% 25% (Weekly (Weekly Contribution (10%) Weekly Commentaries (10%) Seminar Presentation (5%) Short Discussion paper (10%) contribution, 10%, commentaries 5%, seminar presentation 5%, discussion paper 5% Major Essay 30% 10% (due Dec. 3, 2020) Major Essay: 30% (due Dec. 22, 2018) Final Examination: 35% 35% (Dec. 17, 2020) Seminar Participation: In addition to regular oral participation, both M.A. and Ph.D. students are responsible for leading one seminar discussion during the term, with the exception of the “Public and Private” week (Nov. 19) which will be a general class discussion. The week following your seminar presentation, you will be required to submit a 1000-word (4-5 pages) discussion of the readings. These papers are not intended to be descriptive “reports,” rather, students should aim to elucidate the central themes, questions and debates that emerge from the readings. Assignments must be submitted electronically, and it is advisable that you keep a hard copy of all your written work. It is also your personal responsibility to ensure that your computer technology (including email programs) are in proper working order. In addition, in order to assist on-line discussion, you will be required to submit, on a weekly basis, a 500-word commentary on the weekly readings. Again, these are not 3 intended to be recapitulations of the contents of the readings, but rather, critical reflections based on a selection of what you think are significant themes and problems raised by the readings that you can bring to class and raise questions. These are due each week before class. Major Essay: Each student will be responsible for writing a critical assessment analyzing the literature on the discussion for “private and public” (Nov. 13). Your analysis should not be a simple recapitulation of the contents, but should aim to critically examine the concept as advanced by Jürgen Habermas and how historians have both applied and critiqued the relationship of the public sphere, the nature of the “private” sphere, and the emergence of modernity. The results of this critical assessment will be presented in essay form, of 2500-3000 words (12-15 pages max.) The due date for this essay is Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. Major Essay (Ph.D.): For those Ph.D. students taking History 741 as a minor field, a major historiographic paper of 5-6000 words (25-30 pages max.) is required. Topics and bibliography should be worked out in consultation with the instructor. (Due Friday, Dec. 22, 2020) Final Examination: Both M.A. and Ph.D. students will write a 3-hour, take-home final examination scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. Formalities: Students are strongly advised to retain a xerox copy of any written work submitted for a part of their mark. Assignments can be submitted electronically, with the proviso that it is highly advisable that you retain a hard copy of all written work. Note: there is a penalty of 5% per day (including weekends) assessed on all late essays. Attendance at seminar is mandatory. A student who misses a session through uncontrollable circumstances should see me in order to discuss the means by which to make it up through written work. Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresenting by deception or by other fraudulent means and can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notation on the transcript (notation reads: “Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty”), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university. Graduate students are expected to know what constitutes plagiarism, and are not given any leniency on a first offense. 4 It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on the various kinds of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, located at http://www.mcmaster.ca/academicintegrity/ The following are examples of three forms of academic dishonesty: 1. Plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one’s own or for which other credit has been obtained. 2. Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests or examinations. 3. Submitting work, or major parts of work, that has been submitted for credit in another course. Faculty of Humanities Policy on Student Email communications with Instructors: "It is the policy of the Faculty of Humanities that all email communication sent from students to instructors (including TAs), and from students to staff, must originate from the student's own McMaster University email account. This policy protects confidentiality and confirms the identity of the student. Instructors will delete emails that do not originate from a McMaster email account." Faculty of Humanities Statement on Changes to Course Outline: “The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term. The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme circumstances. If either type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice and communication with the students will be given with explanation and the opportunity to comment on changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check their McMaster email and course websites weekly during the term and to note any changes.” Course Texts: Anna Green and Kathleen Troup, eds., The Houses of History: A Critical Reader in Twentieth-Century History and Theory. New York: New York University Press, 1999. 5 Edward Said, Orientalism Robert Darnton, The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History. New York: Basic Books, 1984. Jürgen Habermas, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere Craig Calhoun, ed., Habermas and the Public Sphere History 741 Coursepack Seminar Readings: Sept. 17: Introductory Sept. 24: Empiricism, Historicism, and the Rise of “Scientific” History Green & Troup, pp. 1-32. Georg G. Iggers, “The Emergence of History as a Professional Discipline” (CP) Frederick C. Beiser, “Ranke’s Romantic Philosophy”, in Beiser, The German Historicist Tradition (e-book) Mark Salber Phillips, Society and Sentiment: Genres of Historical Writing in Britain, 1740-1820, 3-30, 103-28. Peter Novick, That Noble Dream, Introduction, chapter 1. (e-book) MF: Michael Bentley, Modernizing England’s Past: English Historiography in the Age of Modernism, 1870-1970. Oct. 1: Marxist Historians Green & Troup, 33-58. Richard Johnson, “Edward Thompson, Eugene Genovese, and Socialist Humanist History,” History Workshop Journal, 6 (1978), 79-100. (JSTOR) Keith McClelland, “Some comments on ‘Edward Thompson, Eugene Genovese, and Socialist-Humanist History’,” History Workshop Journal, 7 (1979), 101-15. (JSTOR) 6 David Eastwood, “History, Politics and Reputation: E.P. Thompson Reconsidered,” History, 85:280 (2000), 634-54. (e-resources) William H. Sewell Jr., “How Classes Are Made: Critical Reflections on E.P. Thompson’s Theory of Working-class Formation”, in Harvey J. Kaye and Keith McClelland, eds., E.P. Thompson: Critical Perspectives, 50-77 (CP) S.H. Rigby, “Marxist Historiography”, in Michael Bentley, ed., Companion to Historiography, 889-928. (CP) Rochona Majumdar, “Thinking Through Transition: Marxist Historiography in India”, in Q. Edward Wang and Georg G. Iggers, Marxist Historiographies: A Global Perspective, 193-218. (CP) MF: Matt Perry, Marxism and History Oct. 8: The Annales and Historical Sociology Green & Troup, 87-140. Fernand Braudel, “The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II – Extract from the Preface,” in Fernand Braudel, On History (CP) Fernand Braudel, “History and the Social Sciences: the Longue Durée,” in Braudel, On History, 25-54. (CP) François Furet, “Beyond the Annales,” Journal of Modern History, 53:3 (1983), 389-410. (JSTOR) Lynn Hunt, “French History in the Last Twenty Years: The Rise and Fall of the Annales Paradigm,” Journal of Contemporary History, 212 (1986), 209-24. (e-journals) Peter Burke, “The Annales in Global Context,” International Review of Social History, 35:3 (1990), 421-32.
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